Q: How do you turn an in/out cat to indoor only?

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I worry about my cat when he's out. He was born outside and I took him in in July. He begs to go out so I let him out during the day. I have yet to install a door because I have indoor only cats as well. Help

Readers' Answers (13)

You make him an indoor cat by not giving in. You are required to be the strong one here. Just like when a little kid cries because he wants the 40th piece of teeth rotting super sugar candy five minutes before bedtime, you need to ignore the whining and keep your cat inside. Indoor/outdoor cats typically live 5 years where indoor only cats typically live 15. Putting up with whining and crying is worth an extra ten years of lifespan if you ask me.

My cat was also a stray who was born outside and spent his first 7 weeks outside. For a long time, we leash walked him or tied him out on a long (dog like) tie out where we could keep an eye out for him out the window. When he started slipping out of his harness all the time, we had to quit that.

We now use a spray bottle and if he's trying to bolt out the door when people are near it, he gets sprayed. If he approaches the door when people are by it, he gets sprayed. It only took about a week and he learned "Hey, I can't go by that door anymore." Every few months, we need to "remind" him of this by going through a few days of spraying him again, but it's been a few years now and he is no longer bolting out the door every chance he gets. And I'll get to enjoy many more years of life with him because of it.

We had a little cat wander up outside one evening, and I have gradually converted her to indoors only, for her own safety, as our area is prone to coyotes. She still tries to run out the door sometimes, but the constant "asking" to go outside is lessening. We are also building an outdoor pen that the cats can go out in and enjoy the outdoors without getting lost, run over, or hurt.

If making him an indoor only cat turns out not to be an option what about one of the pet doors that only opens when the correct collar is trying to go in. We had an indoor/outdoor cat and it took us a while to make her an indoor only cat. We just would bring her outside on leash as dumb as it sounds. Then we eventually slowly made the outside time slower and then just didn't let her out. Of course she meowed at the door and we had to watch when we opened the door but it was for her safety. She eventually started "asking" less and less.